The Travelling Restaurant (Tales of Fontania #1)

In the reign of Lady Gall (Provisional Monarch of Fontania), the word magic is forbidden... When 12 year old Jasper Ludlow's parents flee the city, he gets left behind. He finds refuge on The Travelling Restaurant, a sailing ship captained by old Dr Rocket and crewed by feisty Polly. Where is Jasper's baby sister? He journeys across seas and rivers, and faces whirlpools, storms and hungry pirates to find her. Who should he trust - his unreliable uncle, the mysterious journalist in black, or the gutsy, flute-playing orphan? Why did his parents abandon him? Who is the true monarch? Why is Lady Gall hunting him?

Barbara Else was the 1999 Victoria University Writer in Residence. In 2004 she was awarded a Scholarship in Letters from Creative New Zealand and in 2005 became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to literature. She has an MA(Hons) from New Zealand's Otago University and has worked as a university tutor, an editor and a freelance writer.